DP ready for Osceola

Varsity - High schools - COMMENTARY

September 9, 2009|By Buddy Collings, Sentinel Columnist

Dr. Phillips is No. 1 in the Sentinel Super 16 Central Florida football rankings. But there is no resting on your laurels with a road trip to No. 2 Kissimmee Osceola (1-0) coming Friday and a date with arch-rival and No. 4 Olympia (1-0) next week.

DP dominated a preseason victory over Flagler Palm Coast two weeks ago, but coaches saw a chink in their own armor and believe it was a shortage of conditioning. They injected wind sprints to practices before last week's 24-0 shutout of Edgewater and continued the extra running this week.

"Kids think you're mad at them or punishing them when you run," said DP Coach Dale Salapa. "But we're letting the guys know it's not about that. We recognized a little bit of weakness in our conditioning and addressed it. Don't fight it, embrace it. We're trying to make ourselves a better football team. It really seemed to pay off against Edgewater."

Salapa said nobody has to say a word to get his players ready for Orlando rivals like Edgewater and Olympia. He's more concerned about them being mentally ready for a talented foe with fewer familiar faces, like Osceola. Last season the Panthers handled a tough early schedule well but let one get away in a 29-26 loss to a power from the Panhandle, Niceville.

"I think our kids know how good Osceola is," Salapa said Tuesday.

And I know for a fact there was some smack talk exchanged when DP and Osceola players met at the preseason Orlando Sentinel/Buca di Beppo Varsity Media Day. I can't imagine anybody on either team looking past this showdown.

Kowboys and Colts

Carson, Calif. (1-0), which plays Osceola on Sept. 25 at Disney's Wide World of Sports, opened its season with a 14-2 upset of longtime California powerhouse Mater Dei of Santa Ana. Mater Dei is 186-41-2 with two national titles since 1991 and has produced an all-star lineup of quarterbacks including former Heisman Trophy winner Matt Leinart of USC, former Hawaii star Colt Brennan, and current USC true freshman starter Matt Barkley.

Carson was 5-6 last season but the Colts lost four games by 5 points or less.

Brave apology

Sentence me to 40 lashes while strapped to a goalpost at Boone's Norton Baker Field. In predicting last week that Apopka could go 10-0 this season and mentioning recent teams that have run the regular-season table, I overlooked the Braves of 2007. They went 10-0 en route to a 14-1 state runner-up season.

Hits run in the family

Former Edgewater girls volleyball standout Ciara Jones, now a sophomore standout for Marquette, won tourney MVP honors as the Golden Eagles (6-1) took their own invitational last weekend. Jones had a career-high 16 kills in the final, a 3-1 victory over Austin Peay.

Her father, Aaron Jones, played 11 years in the NFL. One brother, Aaron Jones III, played football at FSU and Eastern Kentucky. Another, Michael Jones, is a freshman safety at Michigan.

Extra points

Lake Mary's girls volleyball win at Lake Howell last week marked the Silver Hawks' first home court loss since 2006. . . . Winter Park's girls cross country team is No. 1 in 4A and No. 2 for all classifications in FlRunners.com's preseason ranking of top Florida girls cross country teams. Class 2A Lake Highland Prep is No. 5 on the list, which is based on times from last season. The Dr. Phillips boys are No. 1 in 4A and No. 3 overall.

State scene

Punta Gorda Charlotte was up 62-6 at the half in a 69-13 football win over North Port last week. Pierson Taylor set what is believed to be the state record for points in a half when it had 78 at the break in a 92-6 win over Jacksonville Providence in 2002. A year earlier, Naples scored 63 in the first quarter of an 85-0 rout of Naples Lely.